Mar 1, 2006

Lenten picket a month from today

On this Ash Wednesday 2006, a good Lenten resolution is to join the April 1 picket of this year's Religious Education Congress at the Anaheim Convention Center.

As noted here before, the REC (pronounced "wreck") features some good speakers every year but also really bad ones: even anti-lifers and dissenters. They deceive the well-meaning attendees, who return home and spread the errors they have picked up.

One of the worst speakers this year is Father Richard Sparks. Concerned Roman Catholics of America (CRCOA) says that at the REC in 2002, he uttered evil speculations about the Son of God and St. Mary Magdalene, and about the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. CRCOA adds that in Berkeley that same year, he said, "I believe in freedom. I believe in responsibility. And so I am not anti-choice."

The picketing alerts REC attendees to the dissenters. So mark your calendar now. The date of the picket is Saturday, April 1. For the exact time and other details, phone/fax CRCOA's Kenneth M. Fisher at (714)491-2284 or e-mail them at: crcoa@dslextreme.com

The late, great Jesuit Father John Hardon said that unless we solve the catechetical problem, the Church in the United States will disappear like the ancient Churches of North Africa and Asia Minor. Let's not let that happen here!

last time I checked, God's grace was free- or is that something the good cardinal is now using as a tax deduction, he is so materially based now a days. Even going so far as to correlate the Sacred Host as to a material good given by a food bank.

i'm all for attacking the "good" Cardinal for his role in the priestly scandal, liturgical abuses, and dissent from the magisterium etc. i'm just not sure what is meant by his "declaring war on the US gov" or bringing illegal immigrants into it. i wouldn't say the US government is in harmony with Catholic teachings or Christian virtue.....outside of the hot button issue of abortion. as far as illegal immigrants go they are entitled to human dignity and the sacraments.....for his numerous faults (catalogued ad nauseum) on this blog you certainly can't blame Mahony for sticking up for and seeking rights and protections for illegal immigrants....or can you?

"I am just not sure what is meant by bringing... illegal immigrants into it."..."entitled to human dignity and the sacraments" ... "sticking up for rights and protections"

Sticking up for rights and protections is the duty of elected officials and political bodies and an informed politic. The laws the cardinal is protesting have nothing to do with human dignity and the sacraments, as for as your uncertainty of bringing illegal immigrants into it, you would have to ask the cardinal yourself. I also question his reasons.

Personally, I am of the opinion this is a way for the cardinal to shore up his flaging popularity with the masses he represents, not to be ignored is the instigator of this fast. See the past tidings newspaper for feb 10 I believe. It showcases a young male latino, sponsered by Bishop Gabino Zavala and his hunger strike for immigration rights. The boy appears to be transgender, is particularly repellant and is crying. Nothing appears to touch the heart of our cardinal then the tears of a frustrated fag.

uuhhh....okay alice...i'm glad i stuck around online and got a chance to see your last post. that was a piece of work! "frustrated fag"....what kind of talk is that? we certainly know what the church teaches about homosexuality....but, i'm not sure how the church feels about terms like "frustrated fag"...good luck with that one!

we'll just have to wait for the wisdom of Q and K-Fish later on this evening i suppose.

PS- so there is a difference in responsibilities etc...between elected officials/political bodies and the clergy?

i think rather than be so angry...just move to Ave Maria, Florida.....now all those that share your "opinions" can put your money where your mouth is. i think the "frustrated fags" will be few and far between there...and you can have a place that represents your values alone.....everybody wins!

Can't we all just get along? This mixture of the sacred and the profane is what keeps me coming back to this blog.

Anonymous....how come you didn't respond to Alice's questioning of the Cardinal's motives regarding illegal immigrants....with the obvious parallel of the right capitalizing on the abortion issue? That one seemed to be teed up for you.

Anyway, keep them coming this is quite entertaining. I loved the comment about moving to Ave Maria, Florida...that was hilarious! We can match our morals with the world's best pizza....Domino's!

Actually this conversation is idiotic. Mahony directed his flock IN DIRECT CONTRADICTION TO HOLY SCRIPTURE AND JESUS'S OWN TEACHING TO DISOBEY THE LAW.Not to defend rights or protections (as you very well know "anonymous")If you want to defend the "working class" why don't you work to protect THEM from so much of their tax dollars going to fund medical care and police services for illegal immigrants? IT'S BECAUSE YOU REALLY DON'T CARE ABOUT THE WORKING CLASS.Alice may not see what you're up to but it's really obvious to me.

There is no absolute obligation to obey every law. If a hungry Catholic approaches a priest and asks for food, why should that priest be required to determine his immigration status? Doesn't the priest have an obligation, as a priest, to serve his fellow man? Our first obligation as Catholics is to the Church, not to any secular authority. By your reasoning, Catholic hospitals could be legitimately forced to offer surgical abortions, contracpetives, and "emergency contraceptives."

Putting aside the threat posed by criminals and terrorists, how can we as Catholics justify turning our backs on immigrants seeking work to feed their families so that people lucky enough to be born in this country can have a bigger slice of the pie? Why are your loyalties to the so-called "working class" of Americans only?

I am all for immigration controls for national security and crime prevention reasons, but why should we exclude people looking for a job?

Hey Q, do you know if someone has put out a list this year of who's speaking at REC, plus any documented instances of heterodox statements on the speakers' behalf? If I'm going to go protest, I'd like to do it on the count of more than just hearsay.

Dave you seem to be full of Christian virtue and keen insight. I never dreamed of seeing someone that combines saintly virtue with the razor sharp wit of Voltaire...you a MENSA candidate for sure! Trolling or not...you haven't addressed any of the points brought up here.

The article that one of the anonymous' or trolls posted here...is a good one and definitely relevant to the exchange here.

I think you misunderstood a poorly written sentence of mine. I wasn't saying that immigrants who come here help you - but that it's tough to justify not allowing immigrants to come here when you're justification is: we don't want to share our wealth and jobs.

When you stand before Our Lord and Savior, and He asks your what you did when His Church was being violently attacked at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, what will you say to Him?

Once again, the speakers list for this Congress is like a who’s who of the dissenter’s roster for the America. Among the more notorious of these speakers are:

Once again, the “Concerned Roman Catholics of America” will be conducting a prayerful demonstration, and passing out flyers that attempt to educate those in attendance as to exactly what kind of teachings they are being subjected to.

We need more volunteers to help in this effort!

Come and join us on Saturday, April 1st as we stand up for His Church and its teachings. If you do, you will at least be able to say to Him when the time comes that you tried!

We will be in front of the Congress entrance from 9:00 AM to around 6:00 PM. Come and join us in the “Church Militant”. We firmly desire that all participants have Her Holy Rosary in their hands at all times!

The Congress takes place at the Anaheim Convention Center, 800 West Katella Ave., Anaheim, CA on the south side of Katella between Katella and Euclid.

Please let us know if you are anyone you know are planning to join us because this will help us to determine how many flyers we need to have printed. We very much need a volunteer who speaks fluent Spanish! We will meet outside the main ticket entrance.

I hope none of you decide not to come and help us prayerfully demonstrate at the Religious Education Congress for what I am about to write, but here goes:

Government stolen money (taxes)should not be used to help persons who are here illegally.

However, Churches and private institutions, as long as they are not using taxpayers dollars, should be free to help all persons regardless of their status.

I find myself in the very very unusual situation of agreeing with the Cardinal on this one. The Church must be concerned only about souls,and not where those souls came from, and the Church, again as long as they are not using taxpayers dollars, should be free without government interferrence to help those in need.

Oh Ken... you sow the seeds of your own undoing...Yes the church indeed should be focussed on saving souls: not feeding, clothing, sheltering and finding jobs for people who are in large part inspired to come here illegally due to the flood of services they will receive here.Middle-class Mexicans in Mexico can't provide for themselves as well as the social safety net provides here. Why are all the L.A. hospitals closing, making it impossible for poor citizens to receive adequate medical care? Because of all the free services illegals receive here.They'd have to be idiots to stay in Mexico.California spends more on Medicaid than education. And the burden is increasing on OUR poor citizens... which is why when people start spewing nonsense about the working class I just laugh and say nice try, but you don't know them and you're by no means their friend.

About Me

Fair Use Notice:
This web site may contain copyrighted material the use of which may not always have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of political, human, religious, and social issues. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.